I just read Robert Cheeke's "Vegan Bodybuilding and Fitness." I couldn't put it down! It was like it was telling me what I need to do to promote veganism in my own way. I want to become the best vegan bikini model I can be, both for myself, and to prove that it IS possible to be strong and gorgeous while following a healthy diet, saving animals, and helping the environment! I started training today, and hope to compete sometime next year, anywhere from March to August depending on my progress. Any advice?

I used to do mostly running and workout videos, but last week I started getting back into lifting weights at the gym. I'm lifting one body part per day, 4 exercises per body part, followed by 15 minutes of abs, then 15 minutes of cardio, 6 days a week.

I was so frustrated at the beginning of my workout today! It was triceps day, and because I work out with a GUY it’s hard to compare my non-existent arm strength to his massive muscles! My arms were still sore from arms last week at the gym, and close-grip bench presses were NOT happening no matter how hard I tried! Luckily, the last part of my workout ROCKED because I got to try out all the awesome glutes exercises I read about yesterday in Oxygen Magazine Glutes edition My legs were shaking by the end…shaking=progress? We’ll see! Oh, and the cocoa powder obsession ended today as quickly as it started a few days ago…what’s up with that??

I love Oxygen magazine. I just finished their newest regular issue and found so many articles extremely helpful. I will have to check out the glutes edition because that is my least favorite part of my body. I don't plan on participating in any competitions but I certainly would love to look that way. I have anxiety issues and I can only imagine how bad they would be if I were to sign up for a competition.

Today actually felt really great at the gym! I've felt so sore these past couple of days I thought it would only get worse, but maybe my muscles are actually adapting! Either that or I'm mentally getting used to the workouts. Either way, it was nice to have a workout that felt like it rocked my arms but didn't leave me completely dead afterwards. I worked biceps, abs for 15 minutes, and then 15 minutes walking at a 9.0 incline on the treadmill at 4.2 mph. My legs were super sore from yesterday and it felt good to walk it out! Later today I went and got this beautiful salad from Whole Foods for dinner, which I've been doing once or twice a week lately. The only thing that's hard about that is I'm not sure the calories in the salads I make! Do you think that's an issue early on in my training? Should I be restricting my calorie intake more or does it look like I'm doing okay? I want to make sure I build muscle, but I don't want to have to seriously cut when it comes closer to competition; I don't want to have to lose more than 5lbs when I'm a month or too out from the competition; I want to make sure I'm where I should be!

meal 1: 2 tbs brown rice protein (120)

1/2 cup steel cut oats (150)

1/3 cup blueberries (30)

meal 2: apple (70)

post-workout meal: vega (110<- the vanilla flavor has 10 more calories than the berry flavor but tastes SO much better in my opinion!)

honestly, I can't find one in Colorado next summer, I don't think they post the comp dates that far ahead of time. I just decided to train for a competition last week, but I've made it my goal to compete within the year. I want to be as fit, confident, and ready as I can be. I'm still learning so much, I feel like I need to get a lot more knowledge about what I want to do. Do you have any suggestions, resources?

I was so excited because today I found some awesome resources online! I'd been looking for a great book on competing in bikini and hadn't found anything until today; the book is sold out but should ship after they restock (after Sep 28th) so I should have the book soon. I also ordered a dvd on bikini comp poses and that should get here sometime next week. The video also talks about competition basics and shows footage from a competition, so that will be great to look into! Today I worked shoulders, abs, and did some stairmaster. I know that eventually I can look the way I want to, I just wish I was there today! It's Friday and I'm excited to take a weekend off from school, hang out with friends, and hopefully hit up the farmer's market tomorrow